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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22853443">The Prince and The YouTuber</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/haztobegood/pseuds/haztobegood'>haztobegood</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Direction (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A Fancy Gala, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Cat Cafés, Come Eating, Explicit Sexual Content, Hand &amp; Finger Kink, Hand Jobs, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Prince Louis Tomlinson, Ring Kink, YouTube, YouTuber Harry Styles, and a Honking Cat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:21:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,367</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22853443</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/haztobegood/pseuds/haztobegood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Annual Rosendal Spring Gala hosted by the Royal Family is the most prestigious fundraiser in the country. When a problem with the honorary foundation arises, Crown Prince Louis Tomlinson must pick a new worthy foundation on short notice. He discovers the perfect replacement in an unlikely place, while watching his favorite YouTuber, Harrysparkles.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>280</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>HL Royalty Fic Fest 2019/20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Prince and The YouTuber</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you to chloehl10 for modding this fest, oopsandhiforever for being a super helpful beta, and to the itty bitty gc and himynameiszayn for much needed help with decision-making while I wrote this!</p><p>My prompt for this fic was "Harry posts Youtube videos of his cat that softly honks (like hobbikats) and one day wakes up to Prince Louis tweeting a link to one saying he loves that cat." I changed it up a little bit, but thank you to whoever submitted this prompt. It was great inspiration and I had so much fun writing this fic!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey folks! It’s Harrysparkles here,” Harry introduces himself as the intro music to his channel fades out. “Welcome to another video. I have a special guest with me today.” Harry waves his arm to his right. His smile brightens as he introduces his guest to his channel for the first time. “This is His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Louis William Tomlinson, of Rosendal.”</p><p>Louis chuckles, “That’s quite the mouthful. Prince Louis is fine. Hey everyone, I’m excited to finally be on Harry’s channel! I’ve been a fan of his videos for a long time.”</p><p>“Oh, stop,” Harry says, combing his fingers through his hair nervously.</p><p>“It’s true,” Louis says, eyes crinkling as he smiles at Harry.</p><p>“Anyways,” Harry continues his intro. “Most of you will have probably seen the news already by the time this video is uploaded. Prince Louis and I are together.”</p><p>“We are,” Louis adds softly, nodding.</p><p>“I know a lot of you have been tweeting me and commenting on my recent videos asking about our relationship. And even the press has begun to run articles about us. So, Louis and I wanted a chance to share our story with you. We’ve just finished filming the official announcement here in the palace’s Red Drawing Room.” Harry spreads his arms as the camera pans out to show the ornately decorated drawing room with its carmine walls and antique gilded furniture.</p><p>The camera pans back in on Louis and Harry on the couch. Louis reaches for Harry’s hand, entwining their fingers and resting their clasped hands between them. Harry continues, “And we thought it would be a great time to also record a video to upload on my channel.”</p><p>“It’s fitting, since Harrysparkles is where our story begins,” Louis says.</p><p>“It is, isn’t it?” Harry says. “Well, without further ado, this is our story.” Harry clears his throat theatrically. Then in a deep narrator’s voice he begins, “Once upon a time—”</p><p>“It’s only been three months,” Louis says, rolling his eyes.</p><p>“Hey, this is my fairy tale. Let me tell it right.” Harry pouts at Louis.</p><p>“Okay, babe.” Louis scrunches his nose in an attempt to mask his fondness for Harry’s dramatics.</p><p>“As I was saying. Once upon a time there was a prince, who sometimes watched YouTube. And the prince fell in love with the YouTuber.”</p><p>“Obviously,” Louis says sarcastically under his breath, but loud enough for the mic to pick up.</p><p>Harry whips his head around to glare at Louis, and playfully pushes his shoulder in retaliation for his repeated interruptions. “If you don’t like how I’m telling our story, why don’t you give it a go.”</p><p>“Alright. I will.” Louis doesn’t bother with any of the fairy tale intros of the past and instead jumps right to the part where things get interesting. He begins their story the week before Louis met Harry.</p><p>“So, it all started one day when I was in a meeting…”</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="center">
  <p>👑 ❤️ 📹</p>
</div><p>Louis shifts in his chair uncomfortably. Just as he settles into the new position, his stomach growls, announcing his hunger to those nearest to him. He takes a sip of water, hoping that will suffice until he is freed from this ministry meeting. It’s already gone fifteen minutes over, cutting into his lunch break. And, they still have one more item on the agenda to get through.</p><p>He glances around the meeting room he’s stuck in. He does not regularly attend these weekly meetings, but he is standing in for the queen while she is abroad. He’s sat at the head of the large conference table and the other seats are occupied by the prime minister and twelve other ministers. Everyone is in various states of boredom as Duane Roddy, the Minister of Transportation, drones on about his proposed infrastructure bill that parliament will vote on in the following week.</p><p>The Royal Standard of Rosendal is displayed proudly over the ornately carved walnut mantelpiece over the seldom used fireplace. The standard features a green background sectioned into quarters by a blue cross with the Tomlinson Family coat of arms featuring a stag adorning the center. The Royal Standard hangs over Louis, representing all the tradition and responsibility of his role as the Crown Prince of Rosendal.</p><p>His family has ruled over this tiny sliver of Europe since the early nineteenth century, a small country often forgotten on textbooks and maps, but still important to the citizens that call Rosendal home. The queen, Louis’ mother, rules proudly over the land, as many generations have ruled before her, and as Louis will someday rule when he is crowned king.</p><p>It had taken him years to come to terms with those traditions and responsibilities. He had struggled with what it meant to be a royal, what it meant to have so much privilege in a tiny European country. But at twenty Louis chose to fully accept his birthright. Now at twenty-eight, Louis could not imagine any other life for himself. He loves his country: the lovely mountains, the vibrant history, the acclaimed exported flowers. Most importantly, he loves his people. He wouldn’t trade his position for the world.</p><p>As Minister Roddy continues to ramble about the importance of funding his proposed infrastructure bill, Louis picks up his pen and begins doodling in the margins of his notepad. Years ago, his tutor had taught him to doodle to control his focus, and it has been an indispensable tool during the many hours of meetings he has attended. He might not be a great artist, but at least doodling helps him focus on his duties. Some of the better ones have even ended up tattooed on his arms, despite the protests from senior advisors that believe tattoos were unbecoming of royalty.</p><p>Louis’ phone buzzes and the screen lights up with a YouTube notification that Harrysparkles has posted a video. Louis feels butterflies and is excited to watch the content, but the meeting is still going. The tiny smile that had lifted the corners of his mouth at the notification drops and he locks the screen and tucks his phone in his pocket. He returns to the meeting, trying to focus on the monotonous argument coming from the minister. He swears this man just likes to hear himself talk.</p><p>Finally, Minister Roddy wraps up his statement and asks, “Any questions?” No one in the room speaks up. They move on to the next point on their agenda, and Shirley Argile, the Minister of Commerce, begins to discuss a trade agreement she is proposing.</p><p>When they’ve reached the end of the planned agenda, Louis wraps up the meeting and thanks the ministers for their time. “I’ll see you all next week.”</p><p>The others wait for him to stand, as per etiquette. He’s never really understood the need for the strict palace etiquette, but he hasn’t fought it since he was sixteen and got in trouble with his tutors for breaking the formal protocol during an official diplomatic meeting with a foreign official. He knows better now than to fight the small traditions.</p><p>The ministers file out of the chamber. Unfortunately for Louis, the Minister of Education, Shawna Odell, stops him to chat. Louis is patient, listening to her question intently despite his hunger. As he responds, his stomach grumbles loudly. After that, Minister Odell wraps up the conversation quickly and she says goodbye.</p><p>Louis can finally take his lunch break. He gathers his notepad and pen and makes his way back to his room, praying that no one will stop him on his way. He is looking forward to eating and watching the latest video from Harrysparkles.</p><p>His lunch is waiting for him when he arrives back in his rooms. Steam billows out from the hot plate of pasta as he removes the silver cloche from his meal. It looks delicious. Since the ministry meeting ran long, he doesn’t have as much time as he’d like before his next meeting. But it is still enough time to watch Harrysparkles’ latest video while he eats.</p><p>Harry typically posts once a week, doing storytelling videos, cooking videos, crafting tutorials, and whatever else he comes up with. Once a month, Harry posts a vlog-style video about a charity or volunteer work that he is involved with. The charity videos were how Louis had originally discovered Harry’s channel, years ago when he’d been researching one of the potential charities for one of the palace’s annual fundraisers.</p><p>He clicks the notification from earlier to open the video. He props his phone up and digs into his food as the video begins. The video is titled ‘I got bit by a goat’. The familiar intro tune to Harrysparkles channel fades out and then Harry appears on screen.</p><p>“Hey folks! It’s Harrysparkles here.” Harry waves at the camera cheerily. He is sat on his couch surrounded by mounds of throw pillows and blankets. There’s a rainbow mug of tea on the side table near him. He’s wearing a soft blue sweater with rows of little sheep knitted into it and his hair is a curly mess. Louis adores when Harry looks soft and cuddly like this.</p><p>Harry waves his hands animatedly as he dives into the hilarious tale and Louis catches a glimpse of the pale green polish on his ring-clad fingers. “So, we went to the petting zoo. There were so many cute farm animals there. Calves, pigs, ponies, chickens, goats, sheep, and rabbits. It was so much fun. I even convinced the lady at the sheep station to let me hold a lamb!” A picture appears in the video. In the picture, Harry is dressed in a brightly patterned short sleeve shirt and a blue bandana tying his hair back. The most adoring smile is spread across his face as he looks down at the small lamb cradled in his arms.</p><p>“Her name is Lily. She is so soft and cuddly and she fell asleep in my arms.” The picture fades and it cuts back to Harry. “Anyway, the last section was the goat pen. And that’s where it all went wrong. There were four goats and they were all named after The Beatles. Isn’t that cute?” Another picture appears in the video, this time a wide shot of the goat pen. Harry points out each one. “Those two grey ones on the left are Paul and George. There’s Ringo, the tan one in the middle. And the big, spotted one on the right is John.”</p><p>The video cuts back to Harry. “We could buy some dried food from a dispenser to feed them. Ringo was eating from my palm when John decided to be greedy. He ran up, knocked the other goat out of the way. I tried to pull my hand back, but I wasn’t quick enough. He stuck his head right through the fence and bit down on my fingers. Do you know how hard a goat can bite? I thought I was going to lose a finger.” Harry clutches dramatically at the pearl necklace around his neck.</p><p>“And of course, I dropped the rest of the food so I didn’t get to feed any of the other goats.” Harry pouts. “The goat farmer had heard me shout, so he rushed over to check on me. The farmer assured me that goat rabies are super rare, so I should be okay. But if I start foaming at the mouth it’s all John’s fault.”</p><p>Harry’s eyes shimmer as he laughs at his own joke. Louis has always had a thing for Harry’s eyes. They are most brilliant green when he’s filming like this. It’s like fields of freshly cut grass or moss growing on trees in a forest. Louis shouldn’t wax poetic about the eyes of a man he’s never met, but he can’t help himself. He has stared at Harry’s eyes for more hours than he’d care to admit while watching all of his videos.</p><p>Harry wraps up the hilarious tale and closes out the video with his usual message to like and subscribe. Louis smiles softly at his screen as he presses the thumbs up to like the video.</p><p>“You texting your Loverboy?” Zayn asks.</p><p>Louis jumps in his seat, not having heard Zayn enter the room. He closes the YouTube app and tries to steady his heartbeat. “Nope, just watching some YouTube.”</p><p>“So, it was your Loverboy?” Zayn raises his eyebrows suggestively.</p><p>“What? I don’t have a Loverboy,” Louis scoffs defensively. “What are you talking about?”</p><p>“Come on, don’t deny it. You’ve been crushing on that YouTuber boy for so long. What’s his name, Henry something?”</p><p>“Harrysparkles. And no, I’m not. I just like his videos.” Louis can feel his cheeks heating. Zayn smirks, having caught Louis in his own obvious denial.</p><p>But lucky for Louis, Zayn doesn’t push further, changing the subject. “Anyway. Just came to make sure you were on your way to the one o’clock meeting with the Earl of Saurell. And, also that you saw that the three o’clock meeting got moved to four. The plane was delayed and they will be late so they asked to push it back. The meeting with the gala planning committee that was scheduled for four has been rescheduled to next Tuesday afternoon.”</p><p>Louis sighs. “I hadn’t seen that, no.”</p><p>“I’ve updated your calendar.”</p><p>“Alright, thanks for the update, Z. I better get going. I don’t want to keep the Earl waiting,” Louis says. He grabs his notes and heads for his office, ready for his full afternoon of meetings.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="center">
  <hr/>
</div><p> </p><p>Later that night, Louis sits on his couch, eyes glued to his laptop screen. He’s just opened the most recent email from Jenny and downloaded the attached spreadsheet of approved foundations. Seeing the list of over 250 foundations only renews his vitriol. His anger boils as he thinks over the meeting and how his choice was immediately tossed to the curb due to some homophobic logic.</p><p>But with the gala less than a month away, Louis doesn’t have the luxury to argue his point on this issue. There will be other opportunities for him to raise money for the Pride Youth Foundation when he will be able to properly plan the fundraisers. For now, he will have to settle for a foundation that he can pretend to be excited about for a whole night.</p><p>Louis starts by eliminating obvious no’s from the list. He runs through the spreadsheet, crossing off each foundation that receives large scale donations from other events. That leaves around 200 foundations. Choosing a new foundation will be even harder than he first thought. There are many worthy causes that he could get behind, but the gala aspect of the fundraiser adds a level of difficulty.</p><p>Raising money for environmental causes won’t go over too well with a crowd that mostly travel via private jet and yacht. Supporting the homeless while serving a five course meal seems in poor taste.</p><p>Louis continues to research each potential foundation and then cross each one he deems unworthy off the list. After an hour of searching the internet, the words on the screen are swimming as he reads the copy on a website about saving retired race horses. That’s just the kind of pretentious foundation he doesn’t want to pick. He’s sure the horses could use the money, but there’s so many other causes that would help more than just the old money in his country. He clicks back out of that webpage and crosses that one off his list too.</p><p>Louis sighs, clearly not getting anywhere with this.</p><p>Frustration with his lack of progress leads to procrastination. Louis opens YouTube. Lucky for him, there is a notification waiting, a little red circle with a one hanging over the bell icon. With his afternoon full of meetings, Louis had forgotten about the notification that Harrysparkles posted a new video while he was at lunch.</p><p>Louis settles into the chair more comfortably and promises himself that he will watch just one video and then resume his search. A little mental break might be good for his decision-making process.</p><p>This new video is over twenty minutes long. He clicks through and the video opens to Harry’s usual intro. His sister Gemma, whose been in a handful of other videos, is sitting beside him and joining along in the intro. Louis smiles as their infectious excitement spreads out from his computer screen.</p><p>“We’re going to a cat café today,” Harry says excitedly. “It’s one of my new favorite places and I can’t wait to show you!”</p><p>“I’m just along to make sure you don’t come home with a new cat,” Gemma says jokingly.</p><p>“I wouldn’t do that! We’re going to film, not to adopt. And don’t lie, you want to play with the cats as much as I do,” Harry argues back.</p><p>“Right.”</p><p>“Anyway, let’s get going.” Harry claps once and the video smoothly transitions to outside a storefront. Harry’s videos are always edited so nicely.</p><p>“We’re at Café Roar. It is the first cat café to open in Rosendal. Let’s head inside.”</p><p>The camera pans around the shop. Inside, the café is open and inviting. The industrial look of the exposed brickwork, silver ducts, and cement floors are offset by a few soft couches buried under mounds of colorful throw pillows and a half dozen tables with their mix-matched chairs. Along the back of the shop, a colorful handwritten menu hangs above a large counter. The cat lounge is separated from the café by a glass wall.</p><p>“This is my friend, Niall. He is one of the managers at Café Roar. He was nice enough to let us visit before the café opens today so we can get the cats all to ourselves.”</p><p>“And if you’re good, I might even let you help feed them,” Niall says.</p><p>“I can’t wait,” Harry says excitedly.</p><p>Niall laughs. “You might not be as excited once you have twelve hungry cats swarming around you. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds.”</p><p>“So, can you tell us a little about the café?”</p><p>“Sure. Café Roar is the first and only cat café in Rosendal. It opened in downtown Laurier two years ago. It is owned and operated by the Rosendal Organization for Animal Rescue, or ROAR. ROAR is a national organization focused on animal protection and welfare. Café Roar features a cat lounge with adoptable cats.”</p><p>“It sounds like ROAR is doing very important work, but I heard that they are in need of some extra funding. How can we help?” Harry asks. Louis’ ears perk up at the mention of funds, an idea sparking in the back of his mind as he continues to watch the video.</p><p>“Yeah, as a non-profit, ROAR runs mainly on donations. The purchases at the café also help. Unfortunately, ROAR’s main facility, a large warehouse space, needs a huge remodel to stay up to code. The organization really needs to upgrade their facilities in order to help as many animals as possible. This year, ROAR has set a goal of raising one million euros for remodeling and updating their building and covering their operating costs.”</p><p>“One million, wow. That’s quite the goal!” Harry says.</p><p>Louis agrees; that is quite the goal for an organization to meet on their own. An idea starts to form as he continues watching. Louis is a bit surprised that he hadn’t thought of looking to Harry’s videos for inspiration sooner, as this isn’t the first time he’s gotten a fundraiser idea from one of Harry’s videos.</p><p>“Every little donation counts!” Niall says.</p><p>“That it does. If you are interested in making a donation, I’ve put a link in the description below.” Harry points down, directing the viewers’ eyes to below the video player. “So, Niall. Can you show us around?”</p><p>“Sure thing. The grand tour.” Niall waves his hands dramatically. “Here, we are standing in the café. We are open six am to eight pm every weekday except Monday and eight am to five pm on weekends. We have a great selection of espresso drinks, teas, and bakery items.” The camera pans around the back of the café, showing off the shiny espresso machine and the glass display case of baked goods.</p><p>“And this, is our Wall of Adoptables!” Niall shows off a line of picture frames hanging over the exposed red brick. Each frame holds a picture of a cat with their name and a short bio. Each bio has a name, age, gender, intake date, and a short description of their breed and personality. Harry films each profile briefly on screen while Niall continues to talk.</p><p>“These are the cats that are currently in the cat lounge. All of them are available to be adopted. Most of the cats have been here less than two months. Café Roar has already helped 128 cats find forever homes.”</p><p>“What about this one? The profile says she’s been here for nearly nine months.” Harry asks. The camera focuses on the profile in the frame. It is not a fluffy kitten or a pretty calico like all the others on the Wall of Adoptables. This picture shows a white and tan oriental shorthair cat named Goose. She has gigantic, pointy ears, a flat pink nose, and bright blue eyes. She is eleven years old, very shy, and came to ROAR when the owner became too sick to care for her.</p><p>“Oh, Goose. She is too shy around large groups of people and didn’t do well in the cat lounge. And, since the cat isn’t a traditional soft, fluffy cat and is older, most people aren’t interested in her.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s kind of sad,” Harry says.</p><p>“Well, maybe someone will watch your video and want to give her a forever home,” Gemma says.</p><p>“I hope so.”</p><p>“Yeah, social media is a great way to get our cats adopted. We have a Twitter account, @cafeROAR, where we also post the profiles. Some people come in specifically to meet new cats that we tweet about. But anyway, enough looking at pictures of cats. Are you ready to meet them?”</p><p>“Yes!” Harry and Gemma shout.</p><p>“Alright. Follow me into the cat lounge.” Niall leads the way through the doorway in the middle of the glass wall. Immediately, five cats bound up to them and begin winding between legs and meowing for attention.</p><p>“Oh, they’re so friendly,” Harry coos. He bends down to pet the nearest cat and begins talking to the cats around him.</p><p>Louis catches himself smiling at the adorable way Harry’s voice gets higher as he starts talking to the cats.</p><p>“No, they’re just greedy. They just want their breakfast.” Niall laughs. “I’ll let you two wander around and meet all the cats. I’ll be in the stock room preparing for breakfast.” He points to the door behind him, where a small sign reads Employees Only.</p><p>Harry and Gemma walk into the center of the lounge, where a couch and an enormous cat tree take up most of the space. There are shelves running around the walls for the cats to climb, a second couch along the far wall, and a ledge along the window at the front of the lounge. Harry ventures over to the window with the camera and gasps at the cuteness. Six cats are curled up in a pile of blankets and pillows. Most are still asleep while basking in the warmth of the morning sun. One of them stares back at Harry with bright golden eyes.</p><p>The video cuts to Niall opening the stock room door and shaking a bowl of dried kibble. All of the cats rush toward him at the sound. Harry laughs deeply at the dramatic face Niall pulls, feigning terror as a dozen cats surround him. When most of the cats are settled with various food dishes placed around the lounge, Niall invites Harry to help feed Cinnamon. Niall explains that Cinnamon is a brown shorthair that doesn’t like to eat around other cats and is particular about their food. He hands Harry a dish of wet food to offer to Cinnamon, who is sat on a shelf half way up the wall. The cat meows once and then begins eating as soon as he sets the dish down.</p><p>The video cuts again, to after breakfast. All of the dishes have been picked up and most of the cats have returned to the warm window ledge now that they are full and content. Niall has the camera and films Harry and Gemma petting various cats.</p><p>Then, a little montage set to upbeat royalty-free music plays. The montage shows Harry petting an orange cat, then cuddling with a black and white cat. It shows Gemma playing with two calico kittens, and Harry scratching behind the ear of a smug looking black cat. With a dozen cats in the lounge, there is no shortage of adorable cat footage.</p><p>Another cut in the video shows Harry grabbing a feather cat toy from one of the boxes. Some of the smaller cats swarm the couch, batting at the colorful feathers on the end of the string as Harry flicks it just out of their reach. The cats are much more active now that they’ve had some time to digest their breakfast.</p><p>The last bit of footage is of Harry waving goodbye to the cats before he leaves the cat lounge. “Goodbye kitties, see you next time!” Harry pouts cutely with big, sad eyes as he closes the door behind him.</p><p>Louis could look at his cute face all day. He sighs.</p><p>The video cuts back to Harry sat in his usual filming spot in his flat. “The cat café was really fun! I hope you all enjoyed our adventure at Café Roar. If you’d like to make a donation, adopt a pet, or maybe even volunteer with ROAR, I’ve put links to their website and Twitter in the description below. And now, before I end this video I have a little surprise I want to share with you. Hold on...” Harry gets out of the chair, leaving it empty for a second. The video cuts back to Harry in the chair but this time he’s holding a cat and stroking its head gently.</p><p>“Meet Goose! You remember her from the Wall of Adoptables. After I left the café, I couldn’t stop thinking of her.” Harry continues petting the cat soothingly as he talks, scratching behind her ears and smoothing the fur on her neck. Goose closes her eyes and leans into the pets. “So, Niall helped me set up an appointment to meet her. When I met her, I knew it was meant to be. I’ll have a whole video about Goose and the adoption process ready for next week, but I just couldn’t wait any longer to share the news!</p><p>“Also, I think I’ve solved the mystery of how Goose got her name.” Harry smiles broadly at the camera as he lifts his hand away from where he’d been petting her. Almost immediately, Goose’s eyes open and she lets out the most indignant little honk.</p><p>Louis bursts out laughing, completely in shock at the ridiculous noise that the cat made.</p><p>She honks again and bumps her head into his hand. Each little honk is a beg for more pets. Harry quickly gives in, petting her between the ears.</p><p>“That’s it for this video, if you want more of Goose be sure to subscribe and ring the little bell! And we’ll see you in the next video!”</p><p>The screen fades to black for a few seconds. Suddenly, a quick two second shot of Goose honking at the camera plays. The video cuts out and the video player fills with suggested video thumbnails.</p><p>Louis sits back in his chair with a huge smile on his face. Every scene of the video was more adorable than the last. And Harry announcing that he’d adopted Goose at the end was truly special. Louis is so endeared by Harry’s caring nature.</p><p>For the first time since he started watching Harry’s videos, Louis cannot resist the urge to tweet about the video. Despite having YouTube and Twitter accounts under made-up names, Louis has never left comments or interacted with Harry before. He prefers not to draw attention to his online persona.</p><p>Now though, he opens the Twitter app.</p><p>He pastes a link to the video and types out “Check out this amazing video @harrysparkles made about @ROARescue and their cute cat café!”</p><p>He reads through the draft one more time, but the profile picture sitting to the left of his tweet keeps him from clicking the button to post the tweet. Staring at his pseudo account’s image, Louis feels a touch of disappointment. Harry’s video deserves so much more recognition than a tweet to his fake account’s six followers.</p><p>He also just wants Harry to notice him. Sadly, not even princes are immune to crushes.</p><p>After a moment of contemplation, he deletes the draft and switches to the official Twitter account of the crown prince. Other than Louis’ sporadic tweets about the national footie team, he rarely uses this account. The palace’s PR team manages a majority of the content that is shared to his more than 1.5 million followers. If they question this tweet, he can argue that he was just spreading the word about the ROAR fundraiser. It is a national organization, after all.</p><p>This time he types out a much more formal tweet, resisting the urge to mention Harrysparkles directly. He does not want to come on too strong.</p><p>“Check out this great video about Rosendal’s first cat café @cafeROAR and find out how your donation to @ROARescue can make a difference for some very deserving animals.”</p><p>When the app confirms that his tweet has posted, Louis lets out a rush of air. He has unwittingly held his breath as he’d posted the tweet. Interacting, even indirectly, with Harrysparkles has his stomach in his throat. Will Harry see his tweet? What if he responds to Louis?</p><p>He shakes his head, trying to clear out the nervous thoughts so that he can get back to work. He’s already spent more than thirty minutes on his break from looking through the database of foundations. Luckily, Harrysparkles might have just solved Louis’ gala problem.</p><p>Louis scrolls through the database, searching for ROAR in the alphabetical list of acceptable foundations. He finds the organization, sandwiched between the Rosendal Ophthalmology Association and the Rosendal Organization of Winemakers.</p><p>“Thank fuck!” Louis says. Tension leaves his shoulders as relief washes over him. His idea to invite ROAR to be the honored foundation at the gala is looking more and more promising. To solidify his decision, Louis pulls up the ROAR website.</p><p>Louis scrolls through the home page, reading the small description of the organization and their mission and some stats. Rosendal Organization for Animal Rescue is the largest animal protection and shelter program in the nation. They list ten shelter locations around the country. The headquarters of ROAR is located in a large warehouse in the old industrial center of Rosendal’s capitol city, Laurier. Café Roar is located just twelve blocks from the headquarters.</p><p>Louis reads through the about page and learns that ROAR does more than just shelter dogs and cats. They also take in farm animals and exotic pets, have extensive animal welfare programs, provide training courses for new pet owners, and run an animal clinic. The list of services and programs is extensive and impressive.</p><p>The next page Louis opens is the fundraising page. The current fundraiser goal bar is drawn as a partially colored in thermometer. The thermometer is still nearly empty, not even reaching the fifty thousand euro mark.</p><p>His next step is to contact the gala planning committee. He types out a quick email to Jenny stating his selection for the gala.</p><p>As soon as the email is sent off, Louis reaches for his phone. He needs to see if the tweet has gotten any reaction yet.</p><p>The tweet has a lot of likes and retweets; there are too many notifications for Louis to scroll through. Instead he opens Harry’s account. His most recent tweet is a reply to Louis’. It’s just a key smash. Louis laughs. With a surge of courage, Louis decides to send Harry a DM.</p><p><strong>PrinceLouisIII:</strong> Did you let Goose write your response to my tweet, Harold?</p><p>He presses send before he can think himself out of it. His heart beats unusually fast as he waits for a response. Almost immediately, Harry responds.</p><p><strong>harrysparkles:</strong> Your Highness, thank you so much for tweeting about my video! It will really help ROAR with their fundraiser.<br/><strong>harrysparkles:</strong> and my name’s just Harry, not Harold</p><p><strong>PrinceLouisIII:</strong> No problem, I really liked your video and wanted to help out the cause</p><p><strong>harrysparkles:</strong> It’s an honor that you watched one of my videos 😊</p><p><strong>PrinceLouisIII:</strong> And I can’t get over Goose’s little honk! She’d fit right in with the geese in the royal gardens 😂</p><p><strong>harrysparkles:</strong> Heyyyyy! Not everyone can be prince charming</p><p><strong>PrinceLouisIII:</strong> Well, she’s definitely cute enough to be a royal. I’m excited to see more of her in your videos</p><p><strong>harrysparkles:</strong> You’re going to watch more of my videos? 🙀</p><p>Louis contemplates his response for a few minutes. Does he tell Harry that he’s watched every video, some even multiple times? That he’s followed him on every social media for years? In the end, he decides it would be weird if they keep talking while he pretends like he’s only just discovered Harry’s channel.</p><p><strong>PrinceLouisIII:</strong> Yeah, I’ve been following your channel for a few years now</p><p>There’s a knock on his door, the familiar pattern announcing Liam’s presence. Louis sets his phone down on the side table and calls Liam in.</p><p>“Good evening, Your Highness.”</p><p>“Evening, Liam.”</p><p>“I’ve got some paperwork for you to sign. Jenny just stopped by my office and said that the committee has agreed to your proposed foundation. She wanted to get the paperwork finalized and sent out to ROAR before she goes home tonight to get the ball rolling. There’s a lot of preparations to get in order with the new foundation.”</p><p>“Alright,” Louis reaches a hand out for the manila folder. Liam hands it over. Louis spreads it open on the coffee table in front of him. There’s a letter to ROAR on the official palace letterhead, a short contract about the donation process, and a draft of an official press release. After looking over each piece, Louis signs them and hands the folder back to Liam.</p><p>“I’m glad you found a foundation, even if it’s not the one you originally wanted. ROAR is a great choice.”</p><p>“Thanks, Liam.”</p><p>“Have a good night, Louis,” Liam says before he shows himself out.</p><p>Louis picks up his phone as soon as the door latches shut behind him. He checks Twitter, but there is no response from Harry yet. Worry furrows his brow as he drags his finger down the screen to reload the messages. No new messages appear. Louis frowns down at his phone. He checks the status bar, but the Wi-Fi signal is full strength and nothing else seems amiss.</p><p>He tries to calm his nerves, thinking of all the reasons Harry might not have responded. He is sure there is a rational explanation for not responding. He could be working, eating dinner, taking a shower, or maybe he even fell asleep. But it’s hard to convince himself that he didn’t just scare Harry off.</p><p>Louis sighs dejectedly and tucks his phone into his pocket. Despite the desire to stay in his rooms waiting for Harry to respond, he has to get ready for dinner with his sisters.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="center">
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</div><p> </p><p>“Hey, Tommo,” Zayn says, inviting himself into Louis’ sitting room after dinner. It’s been years since Zayn has bothered knocking, especially after hours when he’s coming to Louis as a friend, not his advisor. Zayn drops himself into the arm chair across from Louis and stares at him with a knowing look, waiting for Louis to speak.</p><p>Louis recognizes the tactic Zayn often uses to get him to open up. Zayn’s silent concern fills the space between them, but Louis ignores him, hoping he can avoid the conversation Zayn is trying to prompt.</p><p>Louis shifts his gaze back to his phone. He refreshes the screen every ten seconds. He still hasn’t heard back from Harry. It has been more than two hours since he told Harry that he follows his channel. He regrets having typed out every word of that message.</p><p>The silent staring continues for a while, until Zayn finally has had enough of Louis pouting at his phone. “Come on, talk to me. What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Nothing.” Louis shrugs off his concern without raising his eyes from his phone.</p><p>“Bullshit.” Zayn’s firm tone catches him off guard and Louis looks up. “You were weird at dinner tonight. Even the twins noticed how stressed you were.”</p><p>“It’s nothing important,” Louis protests.</p><p>“It is if it causes you to snap at your sister for dropping the salt shaker.” Zayn gives him a reproachful look.</p><p>Louis shrinks back into his chair and looks down at his lap. He isn’t proud of how he’d reacted when one of the twins had dropped the porcelain salt shaker, which promptly shattered and scattered its contents onto the floor. His angry shouts had not been an appropriate response to an accident.</p><p>Louis sighs, knowing Zayn won’t let him bury his problems for long. He refreshes his phone twice more before caving. His concern for Louis’ mental health is one of the qualities that make Zayn a great personal advisor and his closest friend. He rushes out in one quick breath, “I messaged Harry. He messaged me back.”</p><p>“You finally got the balls to contact your YouTuber boy. But you couldn’t just do it from your private account, huh? Had to impress him with the big guns.”</p><p>Louis is about to ask how he knew which account he’d used, but Zayn adds, “I saw the tweet earlier. Debra in PR was having a fit when you tweeted. She complained to everyone that would listen that you hadn’t ran it past them first.”</p><p>“Yeah. A stupid decision.” Louis groans and drops his head into his hands. “I mentioned that I follow his channel and he hasn’t responded. I think I scared him away.”</p><p>“Let me,” Zayn demands as he plucks the phone from his hands. He scrolls through the conversation. He nods along and hums a bit, but not revealing anything until he reaches the last message. He hands the phone back to Louis. “I see. I think Loverboy was flirting.”</p><p>“Don’t call him that.”</p><p>“Fine. But, it still stands. Those are some flirty messages. And you were flirting, too.” Zayn looks at him pointedly. “Maybe it was a big shock for Harry to find out you followed him. I would bet money that he’ll come around. He’ll message you back.”</p><p>Despite the conviction in Zayn’s tone, Louis is not convinced. He refreshes the messages once more. He huffs and locks the phone, tossing it onto the coffee table, as if the phone was responsible for his dismay.</p><p>“Why don’t you invite him to the gala?” Zayn suggests.</p><p>“What? I couldn’t do that.” Louis wrinkles his nose at the idea.</p><p>“Why not? He was the reason you picked this charity. Just make him a guest of honor or something.”</p><p>“But, I’ve never even met him?”</p><p>“So, what? You’ve been watching his videos for years. You know too much about him.”</p><p>“But, he hasn’t met me.”</p><p>“Stop making excuses. You know you want to ask him to come. Just do it already.”</p><p>“But—”</p><p>“If you don’t, I will.” Zayn lunges for the phone on the coffee table, snatching it up before Louis has time to react. Zayn unlocks the phone with Louis’ code and he waves the screen in front of him, taunting Louis.</p><p>“Fine.” Louis sags back into the couch. He extends his hand, “Give me the phone.”</p><p>Zayn plops the phone into his waiting palm. Louis types out a message, then deletes it. The blinking cursor stares back at him. “What do I say?”</p><p>“How ‘bout, ‘I would like to invite you to the gala?’”</p><p>It takes Louis another fifteen minutes before he’s crafted the perfect message. Not too forward, not too flippant. Just a casual invite to one of the country’s most prestigious events of the year. Louis works up the courage to finally press send. Then he stares at the screen, waiting for the status to change from ‘Delivered’ to ‘Read’.</p><p>“If you stare any harder, the screen might burst into flames.” Zayn nudges him a few minutes later when he has yet to see the read receipt change.</p><p>“What if he ghosts me?”</p><p>“He won’t,” Zayn assures him. They sit in silence for a while longer, Louis checking his phone every couple of minutes, with no change.</p><p>Zayn yawns. “It’s getting late. Do you need anything before I turn in for the night?”</p><p>Louis glances down at his phone, still no sign that Harry had opened the latest message. “No, I’m good. Have a good night, Z.”</p><p>The door closes quietly behind Zayn. And then Louis’ phone buzzes in his hand. Louis holds his breath as he opens the Twitter app. His stomach is in his throat. Then he reads the message and smiles.</p><p><strong>harrysparkles:</strong> I would love to!</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="center">
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</div><p> </p><p>The night of the gala, Louis is a bundle of anxious energy. On top of all the usual princely duties of hosting a gala, tonight he will meet Harry for the first time. Over the past two weeks, they have spent hours texting each other. Initially, they exchanged numbers so Louis could text the details for the gala. But their conversation didn’t stop there. They’d easily fallen into chatting about random topics and sharing silly memes throughout their days. And now, he will finally meet him. Louis couldn’t be more excited. Or more nervous.</p><p>Louis adjusts his bowtie and checks his quiff in the mirror one last time. He is dressed in a tailored black tux with white shirt and black silk bowtie. The flashiest part of his outfit is a pair of simple emerald cufflinks. He is glad a strict dress code is no longer enforced for these galas. The palace recently dropped the white tie dress code for all but the most ceremonial events, opting for a more modern take on black tie for social events. It is much easier to blend in with the crowd when he’s not draped with a bright red sash and orders pinned across his chest. He never did enjoy being the center of attention at high society events where status and title held more power than personality and merit.</p><p>Satisfied with his appearance, Louis makes his way through his wing of the palace to prepare for the arrival of the guests.</p><p>The palace ballroom had undergone an epic transformation over the past week. The gala planning committee has brought the empty ballroom to life. There were high top tables around the outer perimeter of the room, three bars spaced strategically throughout to keep the alcohol flowing, and a stage at the front for the presenters and DJ. The middle of the ballroom was set with dozens of elaborately decorated tables, each eight-top had the full service of dishes ready for the five course meal.</p><p>The night starts off with a brief cocktail hour, allowing for the guests to arrive and get settled before the event truly begins. After dinner is served and a ROAR representative gives a brief presentation, the party will really start. The gala planning committee has planned a silent auction, a pet play area with adoptable animals, and a handful of other events to keep the guests entertained while the tables are cleared to make room for the dance floor.</p><p>Louis is floating around the room, greeting all the old, stuffy men and heavily perfumed women that the palace deemed worthy enough for the prestige of this gala. He is a textbook-perfect host, having been trained from the time he could talk to be proper and polite at any and all public appearances.</p><p>Liam approaches Louis just as he finishes greeting Count and Countess Leighton. As the assistant to the head of house, Liam is running some of the behind-the-scenes aspects and coordinating with the caterers to ensure everything runs smoothly. He’s dressed in the standard formal wear issued to palace workers for social events.</p><p>“Your Highness,” Liam greets Louis, bowing his head.</p><p>Louis doesn't protest the formal greeting without protest since they are in public. “Good evening, Liam. How’re you?”</p><p>“Good. There haven’t been any disasters yet, knock on wood. Looks like the gala is off to a great start,” Liam comments.</p><p>Louis surveys the ballroom, noting how it has filled with guests. “It is, isn’t it?”</p><p>“I’ve overheard some compliments while wandering around. The guests love the hors d'oeuvres and seem excited for the after-dinner events.”</p><p>“That’s good.” Louis smiles, thankful the night is going so well, despite the problems that had arisen weeks ago.</p><p>“And, Lady Reviere was caught attempting to steal one of the centerpiece decorations,” Liam adds.</p><p>Louis and Liam laugh. Lady Reviere is an esteemed and eccentric noble with occasional klepto tendencies. Her proclivity for stealing decorations at events has become an inside joke, and a seal of approval, among the nobles.</p><p>“How much longer until the program begins?” Louis asks.</p><p>Liam reveals the gold watch on his wrist to check the time. “Fifteen minutes. Jenny and Frank from the planning committee are set to take the stage promptly at six. Dinner will begin at quarter after.”</p><p>Louis hums in understanding. He is anxious to get on with the night.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="center">
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</div><p> </p><p>After dinner, the guests disperse throughout the drawing rooms for drinks and to check out the silent auction arranged in the gallery. The catering team works swiftly to clear the tables from the ballroom. As the night goes on, Louis is pulled into one conversation after another by various nobles, always demanding the prince’s attention.</p><p>In the moments between conversations, Louis keeps an eye out for Harry. He hadn’t spotted him in the dimly lit ballroom during dinner and now he cannot find him with guests scattered across four separate rooms of the palace.</p><p>It isn’t until the DJ starts playing and everyone returns to the main ballroom that Louis finally catches a glimpse of someone that could possibly be Harry. It is difficult to be certain, having seen his curly hair mostly from the front. But the man standing at the bar is likely the one he’s been looking for.</p><p>Unfortunately, the Earl of Bethesda approaches him before he can walk over to the bar. After ten minutes of conversation with the Earl about the importance of earthworms for soil conservation, Louis has no idea where Harry could be.</p><p>Alone again after the Earl finally leaves to refill his drink, Louis scans the crowd. He eventually spots Harry at the far edge of the room. He and another man are standing at a high top table under a large decorated archway.</p><p>The man standing next to him must say something funny, and Louis watches as Harry throws his head back. Harry barks out a laugh that Louis swears he can hear over the pounding bass of the music. The man drapes his arm around Harry. It’s then that Louis recognizes him. It’s Harry’s friend, Niall, from the cat café video. Louis stares as Harry leans his head onto the man’s shoulder.</p><p>Louis is caught off guard. Did Harry bring a plus one to the gala? Did he have a partner? Confusion and jealousy roll through his mind like a hurricane. He’d assumed their flirty messages and a personal gala invite would have been a clear enough message for Harry to know he was interested. But maybe Louis had read all the signals wrong. Louis sighs.</p><p>“Just go talk to him instead of staring,” Zayn says, startling Louis from his stormy thoughts. Zayn holds out one of the two champagne flutes he’s holding. Louis grabs the drink and tosses it back in one go. Just like Liam, Zayn is dressed in the standard palace tuxedo even though he is not officially working.</p><p>“Wasn’t staring,” Louis mumbles weakly, knowing Zayn can see right through him.</p><p>“Sure you weren’t. You should probably introduce yourself anyway. Since you invited him.”</p><p>Louis takes his eyes off Harry for a second, looking to Zayn. “I will when I’m ready.”</p><p>His eyes drift back to the table, but Harry and Niall are gone and the table is empty. He tries to subtly scan the room, as his chest tightens. They couldn’t have gone far.</p><p>He doesn’t see them at the nearest bar, and can’t spot them walking around. It’s possible they’re lost in the flashing lights of the dance floor or that they ducked into the gallery to check out the silent auction. Louis sighs.</p><p>“Looks like Loverboy got away,” Zayn laments.</p><p>“Not my Loverboy,” Louis mutters under his breath.</p><p>“Maybe next time you see him, you’ll have the balls to actually talk to him.” Zayn nudges him in the ribs with his elbow teasingly. Louis hopes Zayn is right.</p><p>Louis grabs another glass of champagne from a passing waiter. He dislikes the taste, but isn’t ready to approach the crowded bar for something stronger.</p><p>Louis tells Zayn about Lady Reviere and the centerpieces and he tells Louis some bits of gossip that he’s heard throughout the night. He’s in the middle of recounting a story about when the Viscount of Grenway tore his pants during a church service, when he drifts off mid-sentence.</p><p>“There.” Zayn points out a lone, tall figure wandering through a crowd. “I think I see your Loverboy.”</p><p>Louis’ eyes follow his finger. He grips his drink a bit tighter when he recognizes Harry’s hair, curly and unruly as ever.</p><p>“Oh,” Louis breathes out. Louis’ breath catches at how beautiful Harry is. His soft brown suit and lavender shirt sticks out amongst the sea of plain black tuxedos. The flashing lights from the dance floor reflect off a simple strand of pearls around his neck. Louis watches him wander around the room. Harry seems to be searching the crowd until his gaze meets Louis’. Harry breaks into a smile and weaves his way through the crowd toward him.</p><p>“You’d better be a good host and greet your guest of honor,” Zayn quips. He drains the last of his champagne and walks away before Louis can respond.</p><p>Louis is still frozen in place with his half-full drink in one hand as Harry approaches. Before he figures out what to say, Harry is already in front of him.</p><p>“Hello, Your Highness,” Harry says softly. He bows formally.</p><p>“Hi, Harry. Glad you could make it. You can just call me Louis. Are you having a good night so far?” Louis chides himself for how stiff and formal he sounds. With his stomach doing nervous flips, he’d instantly defaulted to his years of training. He hopes Harry doesn’t notice.</p><p>“I am. I’ve never been to a gala before. But it’s great.” Harry smiles.</p><p>“So, where’s your plus one?” Louis asks, feigning politeness while trying to puzzle out if Harry came with a date.</p><p>“I’m not sure where they ran off to,” Harry says as he turns to look over his shoulder, scanning the ballroom. Louis’ heart drops at the confirmation. He must have read too much into all their flirty messages and late night texts. He probably never even had a chance with Harry.</p><p>“Oh well.” Harry shrugs off his sentence like he hadn’t just brought Louis’ dreams to a screeching halt. “They’ll be upset that I got to meet you while they were wandering off though.”</p><p>Louis tries to hide his disappointment behind his politeness. “You could bring him back, I’d like to meet your date.”</p><p>“Oh!” Harry’s eyes widen comically and he chokes on the sip of his cocktail he’d taken. “My sister! My plus one is my sister. She saw the invite on my fridge and it had a plus one listed. She made me bring her. I couldn’t say no.”</p><p>Louis brow furrows in confusion. “But, you and Niall…” Louis says, the sentence falling short when he can’t find the words.</p><p>Harry barks out a loud laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. “Niall’s not my date either. He is one of the ROAR employees that got invited. We’re just really good friends.”</p><p>“Oh. That makes sense.” Louis hides his embarrassment by drinking the last of his champagne. “Looks like we could both use a refill. Can I get you a drink?”</p><p>“Yes, please,” Harry says.</p><p>They sidle up to the crowded bar and are greeted by one of the bartenders. He takes their order and makes the drinks right away. Immediate service is one of the infinite number of perks of being the prince. With full drinks in hand, they make their way from the bar to one of the unoccupied high top tables.</p><p>They’ve nearly finished their drinks again when Niall and Gemma find them. They walk up to the table, both eyeing Louis with reverence as Harry introduces him.</p><p>“Niall, Gemma. This is Prince Louis,” Harry says, placing a hand on Louis’ forearm. Louis focuses in on the weight of Harry’s hand, and the width of it. He’s noticed Harry’s hands in videos before. Like the time he took a pottery class, or the one where he tried to water marble his fingernails. But it’s different when his hands are on Louis, even through layers of fabric.</p><p>Harry moves his hand to the table, and Louis’ eyes follow. He catalogs his rings, salmon pink nail polish, and the bits of tattoos he can see from under his brown suit coat. Louis wants to hold his hand, needs to feel his palms on his skin, imagines his long fingers pressing into him. He is so zoned in on Harry’s hand that he nearly misses when Gemma asks him a question. “So how did you discover Harry’s videos?”</p><p>Louis shakes off the salacious thoughts of Harry’s fingers. He takes another sip of his drink before he dives into the story of how he stumbled across Harry’s channel. Harry blushes and Niall laughs while Louis recounts to Gemma how he had been searching for a new charity organization to sponsor and discovered Harrysparkles and his monthly charity videos.</p><p>From there, the conversation flows freely. Louis is surprised at how natural the conversation feels. He has come to expect the overly-reserved behavior and stale conversation when meeting new people, who are too afraid of stepping out of line in the presence of royalty. He has been pleased to discover that Harry, Gemma, and Niall have no such reservations, as evidenced by the suggestive comments Niall continues to insert throughout their conversation.</p><p>By Niall’s third drink he has thrown subtlety out the window. He leans his elbow on the table nonchalantly and asks, “So, Louis, are you planning on showing Harry the Royal Jewels tonight?”</p><p>Louis laughs loudly, caught off guard by the brazen question.</p><p>“Hey!” Harry whines in protest. He gives Niall’s shoulder a teasing push in retaliation. “I’m not that easy. I require at least one date before I put out.”</p><p>Harry winks at Louis. Louis breath catches in his throat, laughter cut short by Harry’s coy response.</p><p>Having successfully gotten a rise out of both Louis and Harry, Niall excuses himself to refill his drink and drags Gemma along with him to the bar. As the pair leaves their table, the song changes. Louis hasn’t paid much mind to the music playing behind them, but it is noticeable now that Harry is swaying his hips along to the melody.</p><p>Louis bumps into his side playfully. “You should go out and dance.”</p><p>“I don’t want to dance alone.” Harry pouts.</p><p>“Well, I’ll come with you.” Louis finishes his drink, sets the glass down, and steps away from the table.</p><p>“Really? That doesn’t break some princely code or anything.”</p><p>“Nope, and besides, it’s technically my party. I can dance with a beautiful boy if I want to. Lead the way.” Louis sweeps his arm out and follows Harry onto the dance floor.</p><p>Louis is no stranger to dancing, having spent many nights in clubs back before he’d fully accepted his royal duties. But, he eventually had to leave his life of clubbing behind. While it has been a while, he falls back into the fluid motions easily, swaying his hips to the beat and getting lost in the rhythm.</p><p>Harry, on the other hand, is a nightmare on the dance floor. He is all flailing limbs and wild hair tosses. His motions are grand and his beat is off. Louis can’t get enough of the way Harry just goes with it, even throwing in an off-kilter pirouette for good measure. It’s too endearing.</p><p>A handful of songs go by, blended seamlessly into the next by the DJ. Harry gets more daring, dancing closer to Louis, but not yet touching. Louis craves the closeness, but doesn’t want to rush. He hopes Harry would make the first move.</p><p>He gets his wish as the DJ transitions into a slower number, one that begs for them to get close and share the moment.</p><p>Harry gushes, “I love Shania Twain!”</p><p>Before Louis can react, Harry throws his arms around him and leans into him. Louis places his hands on Harry’s hips as they start swaying around their little corner of the dance floor.</p><p>It’s nothing like the ballroom dancing lessons. He probably wouldn’t remember those dances anyway, with the way Harry scrambles his mind. This close to Harry, holding him by the waist and smelling his cologne, Louis struggles to focus on anything except Harry. He feels like he already knows how to guide Harry, Harry following his steps easily without even lifting his head from where he’d laid it on Louis’ shoulder.</p><p>Louis is startled to feel the press of lips to his pulse point. He isn’t sure if it was an accident and the pressure is gone before he even comprehends what the touch of lips could mean. Accidental or not, it sends his pulse racing and he squeezes his hold on Harry’s waist a little tighter, pulling him in a little closer.</p><p>The song reaches its final chorus. He can hear Harry humming along above Shania Twain and Bryan White’s powerful duet. Heart-shaped lights dance around the ballroom, bathing everything in a warm pink glow. The sharp lines of Harry’s face are softened by the shifting lights and Louis is mesmerized by how lovely he looks. Louis stares into his eyes, trying to remember this tender moment and hoping that there will be many more moments like this in their future.</p><p>The end of the song transforms into the shimmery beginning of “Everywhere”. Harry extracts himself from Louis’ embrace to belt out the lyrics like he’s auditioning for a role in Fleetwood Mac. Watching Harry get lost in the music brings images to Louis’ mind of how else Harry could lose himself. Louis’ head may still be in the clouds after their intimate dance. The soft moment holding Harry as they drifted around their corner of the dance floor was more of a turn-on than any grinding he’d done in a club. What can he say, Louis is a romantic at heart.</p><p>Louis has not fully shaken off the visions of Harry spread out on his bed by the time the song ends. Harry drags him off the dance floor with mumbles of needing some water. Before they reach the bar, the opening notes of “Toxic” blast through the ballroom.</p><p>Harry screeches and throws his hands in the air, rushing back out to dance. Louis follows him into the crowd.</p><p>This time, his movements turn sultry. Louis is astonished as he watches Harry take on this whole other persona. Heaps of attitude and sex appeal cover any of his earlier awkwardness. Harry takes his stillness as an invitation to grind, pressing himself into Louis. He places his hands on Harry’s swaying hips. His cock twitches in his pants as Harry rocks to the beat. Any other night, with any other person, Louis would be doing similar. But with Harry swirling around him and clouding his mind, he is motionless, captivated.</p><p>Just when he thinks it can’t possibly get any more extreme, Harry drops himself down to the floor and pulls himself up the length of Louis’ body seductively. Harry rights himself as the song ends, panting as he catches his breath after his enthusiastic show.</p><p>People around them begin to clap over the sound of the next song, and it’s only then that Louis realizes that Harry had attracted an audience of more than just himself. Louis blushes and hopes that any photos or videos that leak to the press aren’t too revealing.</p><p>“Now I really need that drink,” Harry says as if he hadn’t just gotten Louis hard while putting on an entire racy show for the upper echelons of Rosendal’s high society.</p><p>As they make their way to the bar, the music fades and a spotlight draws the audience’s attention to the front of the ballroom. Jenny and Frank from the gala planning committee are on the stage again. The song ends and the music fades out as the DJ passes a mic over to Frank, who calls for the attention of the crowd gathered on the dance floor.</p><p>“Is everyone having a good time?” he asks enthusiastically. The crowd responds with rowdy cheers and scattered applause. “We don’t want to keep you all from dancing the night away, so we’ll keep this short.”</p><p>Jenny takes the mic and continues, “We want to give a big thank you for all of your support tonight. Your very generous donations are sure to go a long way in helping ROAR remodel their facility and support the animals they rescue.”</p><p>As applause ripples through the ballroom, Jenny passes the mic back to Frank. “And now, without further ado, I am proud to announce that we have raised €1,002,050!” Deafening cheers erupt, the celebratory energy surging through the crowd.</p><p>“We did it!” Harry shouts. He throws his arms up excitedly. Caught up in the swell of celebration, Louis is not expecting the kiss that Harry plants on him. Louis gasps but he quickly catches up to Harry’s enthusiasm, returning the kiss without another second of hesitation. Harry parts his lips, inviting Louis to deepen the kiss. For a brief moment, Louis loses himself in the press of their tongues, the taste of Harry’s fruity cocktails, the heat of his arms around him.</p><p>And then, the opening beats of “I Gotta Feeling” blast through the speakers, stunning them both back to reality. Louis’ mind is racing from the shock of the kiss, the kiss he’d imagined a hundred times before.</p><p>Louis stares into his green eyes and notes his bright pink blush. Before the moment can grow too awkward, Harry leans in and whispers, “Remember earlier when I said I don’t put out before the first date?”</p><p>When Louis nods, Harry continues, “Yeah, forget I said that. I want your hands on me.”</p><p>Then, he bites at Louis’ ear lobe teasingly. Louis stifles a moan. When he pulls away, he grabs Louis’ hand and leads him out of the ballroom. As the halls become longer and quieter, Harry’s confidence in where he’s going fades. Louis is quick to guide him, placing a hand firmly on the small of his back and leading him through the heart of the palace. They go up a set of stairs and down another hall until they get to the north wing to Louis’ rooms.</p><p>They are only a few doors down from Louis’ but he is impatient. He’s been turned on and half-hard since Harry first stepped foot on that dance floor, and now that they’re alone he can’t wait any longer. He grabs Harry around the soft flesh at his hips and presses him against the wall. He crowds in close and captures Harry’s lips in a fierce kiss. His hand squeezes Harry’s hip as his tongue slides through his parted lips. Their tongues meet as he licks into the heat of his mouth. Louis’ cock hardens in his pants.</p><p>His buzz from the alcohol had faded while they were dancing, but now he is buzzed on the taste of Harry’s lips. He’s sloshed on the give and take of their fervent kisses until they’re both gasping for air. Louis trails his lips down Harry’s neck, thirsty for any bit of Harry he can take. Harry tilts his head revealing more untouched skin beneath the collar of his dress shirt.</p><p>Louis nips gently at a spot just below Harry’s ear. He shiver at the sharpness of teeth but melts under the press of Louis’ lips. Encouraged by his reaction, Louis latches on, sucking at the tender spot.</p><p>Louis is caught off guard when Harry palms his cock through his trousers. Harry traces the hard length and gently squeezes him. The pressure has Louis seeing stars and he curses against Harry’s neck.</p><p>“I want you,” Harry whispers between them.</p><p>“Yeah, okay.” He lifts his head from Harry’s neck, wiping the spit from his lips. “Let me just…” He fumbles for the key in his pocket. His mind is scrambled with how turned on he is.</p><p>He finally manages to unlock his door and lets them into the room. He flips on the lights and locks the door behind them.</p><p>When he turns back around, Harry has already started stripping. His shoes barely made it through the door and his suit coat is flung over the couch.</p><p>“I hate wearing dress clothes,” Harry pouts cutely as he begins to undo the buttons of his shirt.</p><p>“You might have to get used to dress clothes if we’re going to see each other. Can’t have the royal consort walking starkers through the palace.” Harry moans. His shirt falls to the floor, revealing more tattoos than Louis imagined. He doesn’t have time to catalog them all, as Harry crowds up to him and removes his jacket.</p><p>“Then, I won’t walk through the palace. I’ll just stay in your bedroom all the time.”</p><p>Louis laughs breathily, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”</p><p>Harry hums lightly and places a cheeky kiss on his neck before removing his tie.</p><p>Harry tugs at the hem of Louis’ shirt, untucking it from his pants. They make quick work of the buttons and the shirt hits the floor. Two pairs of dress pants follow.</p><p>Harry captures his mouth in another heated kiss, holding Louis’ jaw in his palm. Louis’ fingers comb through Harry’s curls, he marvels that he is finally touching the beautiful soft curls that he’d first fell in love with on YouTube. His finger catches on a knotted bit of hair., Harry groans at the sharp tug of pain. Louis breaks off from the kiss startled by the sound, but then Harry bucks his hips into Louis’ thigh.</p><p>“You like that?”</p><p>Harry nods in agreement, blushing. “I like a lot of things,” He says coyly.</p><p>Louis pulls them toward his bedroom, ready to discover each and every thing that Harry likes.</p><p>They fall into bed, Louis straddling Harry. Harry is beautiful underneath him. He admires his smattering of chest hair, his myriad of tattoos, his perky nipples. He can’t resist pinching one of those nipples between his fingers. Harry gasps and arches his back, nearly knocking Louis off-balance. Louis steadies himself with his hands on Harry’s shoulder and leaning down for another kiss. He cannot get enough of Harry. As the kiss deepens, Louis needs more. He rocks down, their cocks brush through layers of fabric. Harry’s hands land on Louis’ ass as they both chase the needed friction. The cool bands of his rings press into his flesh as Harry kneads at the muscle.</p><p>Louis kisses across his neck, up his jaw and bites softly at his earlobe. He feels one of Harry’s fingers tracing just under the elastic band of his pants and it makes him shiver.</p><p>“What do you need, love?”</p><p>“Want to see you.” Harry snaps the band lightly.</p><p>Louis removes his own pants quickly. His hands return to Harry’s hips, wordlessly asking permission. Harry nods and lifts his hips.</p><p>Louis swings a leg back across Harry, sitting on his thighs. Like this their bare cocks are nearly lined up. They are both wet, and Louis can’t pull his gaze away from where his precome has already smeared onto one of Harry’s laurel tattoos.</p><p>Harry grasps both their cocks together. The cool, hard metal of his rings is an unfamiliar sensation. They glide up his shaft with every stroke. Louis bucks into his fist, chasing the feeling. Harry holds nothing back, working his fist expertly.</p><p>“I’m so close already,” Harry pants.</p><p>“Me too. Wanted this for so long,” Louis admits, leaning down to kiss Harry. There’s less room for Harry to move his fist, but he twists his hand to make up for the slower movements, bringing them both to the edge. When the edge of Harry’s ring catches at the crown of his cock, Louis comes. He rocks his hips, spilling into Harry’s fist. Harry continues to stroke them both through it, using Louis’ come to ease the way. Louis is growing too sensitive and is about to pull away from Harry’s touch when Harry tenses. Louis sees his orgasm crash through him. His release spills into his waiting hand, mixing with Louis’.</p><p>Louis collapses onto the bed, rolling on his side to face Harry. He watches in shock as Harry brings his come-covered hand up to his mouth and licks it clean. It’s the filthiest thing Louis has ever seen. He can’t look away.</p><p>With his eyes closed, Harry meticulously sucks off each finger, pink tongue tracing around the rings and over his knuckles. His eyes open again as he takes his ring finger into his mouth, meeting Louis’ stare.</p><p>“What?” Harry asks after he pops the now clean digit from his lips. His face is the picture of innocence, as if he doesn’t know what he’s doing to Louis.</p><p>Louis swats him playfully on the chest. “I could’ve gotten a rag.”</p><p>“That’s no fun,” Harry says, licking his last finger clean.</p><p>Louis laughs, disbelieving at how he managed to find this perfect, adorable, filthy person. He surges up to kiss Harry. The taste of them mixed on Harry’s tongue is even more intoxicating than their previous kisses.</p><p>Eventually, Louis gets up to grab a flannel from the bathroom. He cleans them both, although Harry had already done a pretty thorough job by himself. He tosses the flannel to the floor before he snuggles up next to Harry, pulling the blankets around them.</p><p>“Will you stay tonight? Please?” Louis asks, hopeful.</p><p>“Of course,” Harry yawns. He reaches for Louis’ hand entwining their fingers together between them. Louis watches Harry fall asleep. In the moments before drifting off, Louis’ mind is swimming with all sorts of cheesy thoughts he would never admit if he were more awake. But here in bed with Harry, content and sleepy, Louis can’t help but think that this could be the start of their own happily ever after.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="center">
  <p>👑 ❤️ 📹</p>
</div><p>“We danced the night away in the ballroom. And that’s the story of how we fell in love,” Louis says, wrapping up the tale while leaving out how the night of the gala had truly ended. Louis glances at Harry and smiles, his eyes crinkling fondly.</p><p>Harry nods. “It’s our own modern fairy tale.”</p><p>Just then, Goose jumps onto Louis’ lap. “Oomph.” Louis lets out a breath as the cat lands on him unexpectedly.</p><p>Goose honks and paws at Louis’ chest, begging for pets. Goose has taken a liking to Louis immediately after they met. Much to Harry’s dismay, she prefers to sit in his lap whenever possible. When she lets out another, louder honk, he scratches behind Goose’s large pointed ears.</p><p>“And Goose’s fairy tale, too. You’d think she was a royal with how much Louis indulges her.” Harry’s nose scrunches up as he watches Goose cuddle into Louis’ lap.</p><p>Harry continues the video, discussing a bit about the future of his channel now that he is taking a more public role within the Royal Family. He assures his followers that his channel will still contain his usual content, although uploads to his channel may be less frequent.</p><p>With nothing left to add, Harry wraps up the video. “That’s it for this video. Please like and subscribe, and be sure to ring the little bell to get notifications when I post new videos. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you in the next video!”</p><p>Louis waves Goose’s paw at the camera and she lets out one final parting honk before the video cuts to black.</p><p>“It’s good, love,” Louis says to Harry reassuringly as soon as the video ends.</p><p>“Thanks, Lou.” Harry plants a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth.</p><p>Louis closes the app and turns off his phone. If he left it open any longer, they might be tempted to check the comments that have already flooded in.</p><p>By the way Harry is squeezing his hand a bit too tight, he can tell Harry is itching for a look at the response too. He usually responds to comments for the first few hours after posting, engaging with his fans and connecting to them. Harry sighs, “I just hope everyone will be open and kind about our relationship.” Harry leans his head onto Louis’ shoulder.</p><p>“We can handle whatever comes our way. But for now, it’s just you and me.” Louis wraps Harry into an embrace and pulls him down to kiss him softly.</p><p>Goose jumps up onto the couch, the movement breaking apart their kiss. She steps over both of them to curl into Louis’ lap. She settles down, letting out a satisfied honk. Louis scratches behind her ears. “And, you too, Goose.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading! Thanks for reading! <a href="https://haztobegood.tumblr.com/">Here</a> is a rebloggable post for the fic.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J1ynsuWcNQ">Here</a> is the cat that Goose was based on! </p><p>Don't forget to check out all the other fantastic works from the <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HLRoyaltyFicFest">HL Royalty Fic Fest</a> and leave kudos and comments for all the wonderful authors!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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